Jonathan L. Rosario
Lynda Goldstein
Blog entry
April 19, 2016
The Outsiders Blog
- E. Hinton initiates her career as an author when she was still a fifteen year old high school student in Oklahoma. Her enthusiasm for reading in her childhood stimulates her to write something realistic about what the majority of children are actually doing in their daily life instead of reading “Mary Jane Goes to the Prom”1 from time to time (Hinton, 2003). Her disapproval of the biased and unrealistic depiction of children’s warm and fragrant life in traditional adolescent novels inspires her to create realist young adult fiction of class conflict and gang rivalry with the appalling facts of violence, poverty, alcoholism and drug addiction. Critics appreciate Hinton’s “unpretentious narrative style and her skillful development of plot and character” (Enotes, 2007).
The story of The Outsiders is told by Ponyboy Michael Curtis who is a member of lower-class gang greasers on the East Side. His Mom and Dad are killed in an auto wreck and he lives with his two elder brothers named Darrel Shaynne Curtis and Jr. Soda Patrick Curtis respectively. Ponyboy prefers Soda to Darrel because Darrel “hollers at Ponyboy all the time or treats him as if he was six instead of fourteen” (Hinton, 2003, p. 2). After Ponyboy being jumped by the Socs while walking home alone from movie house, Darrel blames Ponyboy again for not carrying a blade with him, and Ponyboy considers “he just hollers at me and I am just another mouth to feed and somebody to holler at” (p. 18). Here, Ponyboy does not understand why Darrel hollers at him, which causes misunderstanding between siblings to some extent on account of Ponyboy’s ego-centrism. He regards Darrel with his own way of thinking, failing to understand him from Darrel’s point of view. Darrel himself is deprived of his college education though he is smart and bright because of his family obligation in taking good care of his brothers and making both ends meet. He has high hopes for Ponyboy whom he believes will never fail to live up to his expectation, which is beyond Ponyboy’s understanding. Darrel’s stern attitude towards him and requirement of him are other kinds of deep love, care and affection. Ponyboy’s ego-centrism is cast off only when he finds Darrel crying with tears running down his cheeks in their reunion in the hospital. Darrel has the “same helpless and pleading look” now as he does in the funeral of their parents (p. 98). All of a sudden, Ponyboy realizes that his brother does care about him, just because “Darrel is trying too hard to make something of his younger brother Ponyboy” (p. 98). At that moment, Ponyboy accomplishes the task of de-egocentricity by realizing the importance of understanding others. During the process of transformation from ego-centrism to de-egocentricity, Ponyboy undergoes a great deal of frustration, through which he realizes the significance and value of interpersonal understanding. Casting off his bias against his brother, he manages to distinguish his thinking about his own thoughts from his thinking about the thought of his brother and succeeds in the comprehension of his brother’s viewpoint as well. Finally, he immerses himself in the smoother process of coming-of-age.
“The protagonist, Ponyboy, represents the novel itself as an intervention into those problems, but it works to reaffirm a notion of rugged individualism and a faith in American education. Such lessons ultimately disarm the novel’s class critique and render it safe for educational institutions. The fact that the book was written by a young teenager who writes about the truth is intriguing because often the audiences of the book were middle school and high school students. They really appreciated the books truthfulness which might have led to it being banned which is common when it comes to banned books but the simple fact that the use of alcohol, drugs, violence and murder were good enough examples the were thought to be worthy of censorship. “In the novel, Randy, a Soc, puts down Ponyboy, a greaser, when he says, “you cant win, even if you whip us. You’ll still be where you were before – at the bottom. Greasers will still be greasers and Socs will still be Socs”(pg 117) .The harmful affects of stereotyping are woven throughout the novel and the difficult struggle of Ponyboy and his friends has an impact on students who read the novel. This is because many people at a young age can definitely relate to such predicaments that the characters in the story go through simply because bullying has always been a common problem in many places. “Regardless of the age level of students we work with, exploring literature addressing issue of violence may come close to home. Victimization of robbery and assault, rape and sexual harassment of teenagers, and abusive home environments cut across all racial and social lines. Indeed, bullying and harassment are all to common even in many of the buildings in which we teach, and students are often aware of such situations and than teachers. While some students will be reluctant to bring their feelings out to the teachers, other may not. When my classes address such issues, I am surprised by how often students will share with me – via their journals, in person, or even with the whole class- that they have been the victims of one or another form of violence” (Carey-Webb). This goes to show how we as people relate to these truthful predicaments, in doing so letting people read the book, especially younger audiences may help them realize the importance of speaking out and seeking help and that it is ok to do so.
“It seems students find this book a validation of what they see in their own lives and appreciate reading about the struggle for individual identity while still wanting to belong to a group” (Groot). “In early commentary about The Outsiders, Hinton noted,“Teen-agers should not be written down to”(CLR 3,69). She continued on to say,“Teen-agers know a lot today. Not just things out of a textbook, but about living. . .Writers needn’t be afraid that they will shock their teen-age audience. But give them something to hang onto. Show that some people don’t sell out, and that everyone can’t be bought. Do it realistically. Earn respect by giving it” (CLR 3,70). Only seventeen when she wrote the novel, Hinton represented her own target audience and knew of their struggles and desires” (Dial).
“When The Outsiders is read through a “youth lens” as prescribed by myself and my co- authors at AERA last year, we can see that, though Hinton explicitly challenges a lot of the stereotypes of poor male adolescence, she ultimately reinforces messages about the goals of a classed adolescence (Lesko 6) leading to “the promise of happiness” (Ahmed 11) far from the life of a Greaser” (Sarigianides).
Works Cited
Gillespie, Joanne S.. “Getting Inside S. E. Hinton’s “the Outsiders””. The English Journal 95.3 (2006): 44–48. Web…
Carey-Webb, A. (1995). Novels — the outsiders by S. E. hinton. English Journal, 84(5), 32. Retrieved from http://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/docview/237301107?accountid=13158
Groot, Lauren, and Martha Story. “ALAN Volume 29, Number 2 – Table of Contents.” ALAN Volume 29, Number 2 – Table of Contents. The ALAN Review, Jan. 2002. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.
Tribunella, Eric L. “WebAccess.” Penn State Secure Login:. Springer Link, 13 June 2006. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.
Dail, Jennifer S. “First Opinion: S. E. Hinton’s The Outsiders: First Look.” First Opinions, Second Reactions 7.1 (2014): Article 5. Web.
Sarigianides, Sophia Tatiana “Second Reaction: “Not All of Us Are Like That”: Othering Poor Violent Peers To Become a Proper Adolescent in The Outsiders.” First Opinions, Second Reactions 7.1 (2014): Article 6. Web.